


Passionate Souls

by runawayminds



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-22
Updated: 2018-07-22
Packaged: 2019-06-14 07:54:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15384171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/runawayminds/pseuds/runawayminds
Summary: Sometimes you meet a person and you know that they're going to mean everything to you. For Oliver and Felicity, every step they took was a step towards each other.(The story is told out of order. Each chapter is just a glimpse at Oliver & Felicity's relationship, at random points in time.)





	1. Morning Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you meet a person and you know that they're going to mean everything to you. For Oliver and Felicity, every step they took was a step towards each other.

He wakes to an empty bed.

Thoughts of Felicity, of being _with_ Felicity, float through his mind; hazy daydreams of laughter and happiness. Secret desires he'd always pushed away bubble up, and he doesn't think he cares anymore.

He sits up with a smile. The scent of her lingers, her warmth surrounds him, beckoning him back to silk sheets and memories of what they shared last night. The promise of seeing her smile, of feeling her skin beneath his fingertips pulls him from the bed instead.

The morning chill creeps in, sending him in search of his sweatpants, his shirt nowhere to be found. The smell of coffee hits him as he opens the door, and he can't help the half-smile that paints his lips. Felicity found the good coffee. (He's never admitted to keeping it stocked just for her.)

He considers getting a cup first, then going in search for her. Thinks that maybe the warm mug will occupy his hands long enough to keep his hands off of her while they talk. About them.

Instead, his path to the kitchen leads him to her. His first thought ( _She's adorable_ ) is soon displaced by ( _She's gorgeous_ ) the sight of her in just his t-shirt. He's never seen something so beautiful, his fingers itch to reach for her Instead he stands, watching. He leans against the doorframe and watches her as she sips her coffee, fingers skimming through a magazine and then his leather bound planner. (Once upon a time, he'd have laughed at the thought of needing such a thing. Now, he only laughs at the way Felicity rolls her eyes at it, quiet murmurs of him being _such_ a Luddite, and it breaking her heart.)

When she finally notices him, a quiet "Oliver" leaves her lips, and the smile she gives him (he's always thought of it as _his_ smile.) just might knock the breath from him completely. In this moment, he knows. He's so in love with Felicity Smoak.


	2. Touch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you meet a person and you know that they're going to mean everything to you. For Oliver and Felicity, every step they took was a step towards each other.

The party is dying down in the wee hours of the morning, and he’s wandering the loft in search of _something_. There’s been this ache in his chest these last few months, and between the parties and QC, it seems like his life is passing him by in a haze.

His feet lead him down the hallway, away from the noise and people. He’s not sure what pulled him this way, but then he opens the door to the library and it’s like the world slows down and the noise fades away.

Because he’s found Felicity, fast asleep on the sofa. She’s hidden away in the library; a glass of wine sits barely touched on the end table, a book resting open next to it.

He's not sure when it happened, this intense need for Felicity.

She's beautiful, curled up on the sofa, the gentle rise and fall of her chest with each breath soothing him. They're just friends. No matter what he wants, he won't risk that. He won’t risk _her_. Not when she's the only one who sees him. Sees past the mask he wears with the rest of the world.

He used to think it was necessary, this wall he built around his heart. And then she fell into his life (literally) and everything changed. She makes him want to be a better man. For her.

He can't resist it, the temptation of her skin. Can't resist running his finger across her cheek, a gentle caress across silk. Can't resist brushing her hair back, blonde strands falling against his skin. Its immediate, the thought of silk strands falling through his fingers, his lips on her skin as she moans his name. Its just a dream though. Secret daydreams that dance through his mind in the darkness of night.

She shifts then, burrows deeper into the sofa, a whispered sigh escaping parted lips. She settles once more, a smile settling on her faded pink lips. The darkness swallows his whisper as he covers her with blanket that sat over the sofa where she sleeps. A secret between him and the night.

_I love you._


	3. Comfort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you meet a person and you know that they're going to mean everything to you. For Oliver and Felicity, every step they took was a step towards each other.

She doesn't know what to do.

They've spent the better part of three years becoming friends - best friends. From the moment they’d met in Boston, they’ve been inseparable. But now, here, she doesn’t know what to do.

Three days ago, Robert Queen died.

They’d been sitting in the quad studying on a beautiful Tuesday afternoon when Oliver’s phone had rang. She’s still not sure what was said. Just that it was his mom. All she knows is that she watched his face crumble, tears streaming down his cheeks and there was _nothing_ she could do to fix it.

She’s not quite sure what made him ask for her to accompany him back home, but he did. So she’s here. In a gorgeous mansion in Starling City, sitting beside a man she’s come to care about, unable to do anything to make this pain go away. _If she was stronger, she’d be able to admit that she more than cares for this man beside her, but this isn't the time or the place. At least, that’s what she tells herself._

She’s not quite sure how long they sit there, side by side, silently watching the world move around them. A few people approach them, offering Oliver their condolences, lamenting the loss a such great man.

She finds him outside, his head in his hands, and she doesn’t know whether to leave him be, or to be there for him. After all, he’s lost his dad, how can she possibly make it better? _(She knows how it feels, to lose your dad. Her’s might be out there somewhere, but she’ll never see him again. A part of her is happy about that. So maybe she doesn’t quite know what he’s going through, not anymore.)_

Somehow, he knows she’s there. _(Years later, he’d admit to her that he’d always known when she was around. It was like electricity in his blood whenever she was close._ ) She’s just about to make her excuses, give him some space to grieve in private, when he looks up at her for the first time since they’d parted ways to dress for the wake that morning.

The pain in his eyes is all it takes to make her sit down besides him. _(Where she’s been all along. It’s what he tells her, from that weekend on, whenever she asks him why he puts up with her.)_

_“I never got to tell him goodbye.”_

Her hand finds his, and when his eyes connect with hers, she thinks that maybe it’s all he’s needed - a connection to get through this night.

_“Oh, Oliver. Your dad knew you loved him. And even though it doesn’t feel like it right now, you’re going to be ok. It’s going to hurt, and it’s going to feel like some days, you don’t know how you’re going to get through it all, but you will. Because your dad’s always going to be there. He’s a part of you. Don’t let go of that.”_

They sit there, on that little bench, her hand on his, until the sun rises. There are tears, and smiles, and laughter, and many stories of a young Oliver and his dad. And she thinks that maybe, just maybe, he’ll be okay.


	4. Wine & Candlelight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes you meet a person and you know that they're going to mean everything to you. For Oliver and Felicity, every step they took was a step towards each other.

It’s surreal, being here with him. On a date. An actual, romantic, _oh my god, he might kiss me on my doorstep at the end of the night,_ date. Because he’s Oliver Queen, and she’s Felicity Smoak, and they do _not_ go on dates. At least, not with each other _(although she won’t even think of how long it’s been since she’s dated. It makes her sigh just thinking about it)_.

Five days ago he’d walked into her office at QC like he always did - with that easy smile and confident swagger that allowed him to command board rooms and people alike with an ease that was unfair.

“Felicity Smoak? Hi, I’m Oliver Queen.”

“Very funny Queen. It’s not my fault _your_ company has kept me extremely busy these last few days. After all, wasn't it you who offered me up to the board, _Gentlemen, trust me. Felicity is the best person to lead this project. Not only does she have the technical skills needed to do build this new processor single-handedly, she also already has absolutely brilliant ideas on how to market it._ I believe that’s an exact quote too.”

“I know, I’m sorry. If I’d known it would lead to this, I’d have totally thrown someone else under the bus. Maybe Curtis?” He smirked at that, knows it drives her crazy.

“Either way, there was a reason I came to visit.”

“You mean besides giving me grief for doing a disappearing act these last few days?”

That earns her another smirk, and she’s just about to flip him off, CEO or not, when he suddenly turns serious, a look of hesitance in his eyes.

“Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor. There’s this thing on Saturday, mostly hobnobbing to raise money for your processor. I was hoping you’d go with me. As my date.”

She doesn’t know what she expected, but that hadn’t been it.

Saturday night he shows up at her door, dressed in a tux, and she’s pretty sure her jaw drops at the sight of him. _(She misses the way his eyes take her in, from head to toe, as she locks her front door.)_

Hours later, Felicity thinks that maybe this had been the best evening she’s ever had.

They'd lasted 45 minutes at the gala before Oliver grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the door.

Laughter chased them out across the hotel’s courtyard as they made their escape to the waiting town car.

If he noticed her surprise when he gave the driver his address, he didn’t show it.

For a moment, the world stopped as she’d stepped in, taking in the sight before her - a blanket laid out on the floor of his loft’s living room, lit candles, wine glasses, and a bottle of wine beside them.

He’d led her in, guiding her to sit on the floor, before pouring her a glass of her favorite red.

And then they’d spent hours talking and laughing, about anything and everything.

Somewhere along the way she’d kicked off her heels, legs curled up besides her, her body turned towards his.

“So, what’s this all about Oliver? It seems like I’ve seen you for all of 15 minutes these last few weeks, not to mention that we haven’t even talked, not like we usually do, and now you‘re acting like you’ve got something on your mind, something you want to say but don’t know how.”

”I missed you. And I know it’s mostly my fault that we haven't been able to see each other lately, and I _have_ had something on my mind, but I thought that maybe…”

“Maybe what?”

It’s _deafening_ , the silence that surrounds them, as he sets down his wine glass.

It’s _electric_ , the tension that vibrates through them both, when he takes her hand in his.

It’s _extraordinary_ , the look in his eyes, when they meet hers.

“Maybe it was time to tell you the truth. About what’s been on my mind lately.”

She can’t tell, but she thinks that maybe everything is changing.

“You’re so special Felicity. Somewhere along the way you became my best friend. The one person that I could tell everything too, knowing that you’d never judge me, or look down on me. And that means the world to me.”

She’s reaching for him with her free hand before she can stop herself, murmuring “Oliver, you don't have to…”

He squeezes her hand though, quieting her, “I want to. I _need_ to. You deserve to know… that somewhere between that moment I met you, and the moment you held my hand after my dad died I knew that your friendship meant more to me than anyone’s before. The day we sent driving around, going nowhere - just spending time together, I realized I cared about you. And when we had lunch that day a few weeks ago, when you smiled at me and told me that I was a good man, I realized that I love you, Felicity.”

She gasps, at his declaration, at the look in his eye, at the way his skin feels against hers.

“Oliver…”

“You always tell me that…that I’m a good man. That my father would be proud of the man I’ve become. But Felicity, I’m that man because of you. Because I want to be someone that you’re proud of, that is worthy of you. That I’m worthy of your love.”

She can’t help the grin that stretches across her lips at his words, or the way she sips towards him, wrapping around him. “So, does mean we’re on a date, date?!”

“I don’t know, I guess I need to know one thing first.”

His grin makes her laugh. She can’t help but think, he looks so _happy_. “Do you kiss on the first date?”

She shakes her head, a smile on her lips, as her hands slip to his cheeks, then back to cradle his head as she yanks his lips to hers.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoy these drabbles. Originally posted on my Tumblr (@runawayminds), I've finally gotten back to writing, both for this series and others. Credit for the title and the pictures used in each chapter go to the @passionate-souls Tumblr.


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